Border Patrol union says budget cuts hurt enforcement

Union representatives for the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told lawmakers Wednesday that as they deal with the influx of unaccompanied minors along the Texas border, they’re also coping with staff and budget cuts mandated by Congress.

Chris Crane, president of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council 118 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), described an agency “drastically understaffed with morale plummeting to record lows.”

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, he added: “I hope that Congress will also consider the future consequences of allowing (enforcement and removal activity) to continue in its current state.”

Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said the apprehensions are straining the border enforcement system and diverting agents’ attention from traditional law enforcement duties. He noted that by some estimates nearly 40 percent of manpower has been pulled from the field to process and care for immigrants.

“This manpower decrease did not go unnoticed and for those trying to enter the country illegally – it was a good time to try,” Judd said.

He said cartels are taking advantage of the situation and forcing additional juveniles and immigrants to cross the border between the ports of entry, effectively using these immigrants as a human shield to divert resources that would otherwise be spent interrupting their trafficking operations.

“These cartels have a well-developed intelligence network and are very skilled at exploiting our shortages in manpower,” Judd said.

Both Judd and Crane said their agencies need additional staff and resources to effectively handle the immigration increase and strengthen law enforcement operations along the border.

The committee also heard from ICE executive Tom Homan and Border Patrol Deputy Chief Ronald Vitiello, who testified that additional resources and manpower have been directed to Texas to deal with the influx of unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally.